by Marie Tiemann
Vermonters are anxiously awaiting the spring weather and nature’s beauty in the month of May; however, there is one event of great concern planned for May 1st.
While we may envision children dancing around a May pole as depicted in old pictures, are you aware that May Day was the occasion for high-profile parades in the Soviet Union to celebrate the overthrow of capitalism and to showcase Soviet military might during the Cold War?
The national protest group Indivisible, with multiple chapters in Vermont, is urging protestors to prepare for economic disruption on May Day- no work, no school, no shopping. Serious concerns are raised for the future of our country when students are urged to resist the elected government by disrupting the functioning of our economy rather than through informed discussion and voting.
It’s greatly concerning that our students are leaning into communism. 34% of Americans aged 18–29 said they have a favorable view of communism. Many in this age group are influenced by school curricula, social media, and definitions that blur communism with generic “equality” or welfare policies.
I wonder to what extent VT students know about the theories of Karl Marx and the deaths of 100 million innocent people when his thoughts were put into practice by Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin in the Soviet Union and by Mao Zedong in Communist China. Many people supported communism in the name of equity for the oppressed, only to find it was the greatest oppressor of all government regimes.
Students who now enjoy the free speech and activism allowed in this country will soon be dismayed when they are enveloped by a government that denies individuality, ambition, and personal responsibility.
Incentives dry up and innovation diminishes. Is this the type of country that you want to live in? Not me! Are students being taught the value of a democratic republic?
America is not a perfect nation, but our Declaration affirms that our rights are endowed by a Creator, not granted by a state. People under a communist government do not have the freedom of speech and religion that we are privileged to enjoy here in America.
Are Students being Encouraged to Join the Protests?
Remember February 13th this year when middle school and high school students left school to join the ICE protests? Students were racing across Route 15 in Essex Junction to join the crowd at Five Corners.
The same group that was encouraging students to participate, Education Justice Coalition of Vermont, is now organizing protests in Williston on May Day. Their website solicits: “Join us on Friday, May 1st at the Williston Hannaford to picket …and then join the May Day Solidarity March”. (Education Justice Coalition.)
This group is serious about radicalizing students—it has a paid staff member whose sole job is to train Vermont students in activism.
The Education Justice Coalition encourages teachers to train activists. On their web site you will find slogans such as: “Teachers: Now is NOT the Time to be Neutral.” “Everything is political.”
Cultivating the Mind Set
We hope that Vermont school principals and superintendents are not promoting these protests among the students.
However, it seems likely that this mindset is cultivated in many classrooms due to the state’s social studies framework that frames issues through lenses of systemic oppression, equity over equality, racial and sexual identity, and skepticism toward free-market outcomes. This can result in unbalanced presentations that downplay capitalism’s successes while also downplaying the human suffering under communist regimes.
School administrators must consider these questions if schools are encouraging participation in protests, or worse, allow students to leave during school hours,
Question 1: Custody & Supervision – Who is liable if a child is injured off-campus during a school-sanctioned walkout
Question 2 Viewpoint Discrimination – Will the school provide the same immunity and support for a differing viewpoint
Question 3: Unsupervised Minors – Where are the signed liability waivers for every minor leaving campus?
Question 4: Safety & Vetting – Have the “community leaders” meeting our kids at protest sites passed background checks
Question 5: Truancy & Policy – Why is the school refusing to enforce its own Code of Conduct for this specific political event
Grow Success, Not Cynicism
Instead of disparaging our nation’s free enterprise (e.g., capitalist) system, the schools should be giving them the skills so they can earn the prosperity which only that system can provide.
How they vote in just a few years and their future prosperity depends in large part on what they are being taught today.
- Let us know what you are hearing about student participation in the May Day protests
- What are you hearing about social studies and history instruction?
- Are teachers calling out for the day to attend the events? Nationally, teachers have been encouraged to call out and go to the protests.
Author is President, SPEAKVT for Parents in Education, Inc.